EFES Time

"Food? Are there any restaurants still open?" We ask the old gentleman running our hotel in Ephesus. (We just came from Istanbul and had no dinner.)
"Yes,yes." he says with enthusiasm and takes me into the street and points down the dark street a few blocks. "Amazon." he says in a mysterious tone. I imagine all sorts of adventures awaiting us down the street at "Amazon."
We head off through the streets and reach a sign that says "Anton" That seems close enough to us, we enter a cafe. Rock music is blasting on the stereo. Satellite TV is on the flat screen. The young man is on Facebook (the entire country is on Facebook)
"Are we too late to eat?"
"Yes, you are." says the young man.
"Is there any place in the town open for dinner."
"No."
I look behind him and see a cooler with Nestea Iced Tea, Sprite and EFES, the local bottled beer. (Interesting to note that Ephesus today is known for its ancient ruins and fine Pilsner...perhaps a cautionary tale for us all.)
"OK, I'll have an EFES and she'll have a Sprite."
"Excellent choice, sir!"

We wrapped up our time in Istanbul with a trip to Ephesus. We fly to Izmir on the West Coast and are met by a driver for the journey to Selcuk which is near the ancient ruins of Ephesus. Our driver is driving a 34 passenger tourist bus. Makaila and I climb in....and that's it. Just Makaila and me. We stretch out as the bus heads down the 4 lane highway towards Selcuk. It reminds you of any 4 lane highway in the States, though I will admit the left turns on to other roads are a bit harrowing due to no turn offs or clover leaves in this area. Just get in the left lane, signal a left turn. Stop. And all the cars and trucks in the left lanes have to swerve to the right lane to avoid you. I closed my eyes more than once.

I have spoken to a lot of people around Dublin who have made the trip to Ephesus and the ancient ruins. Today the modern city of Selcuk (sel-chuck) is the destination and beside it is Ephesus. Our modest hotel is one that clearly caters to the tourist trade. I didn't see much of it last night because we were too busy rockin' out at the Amazon down the street. But I think the tourist trade is a bit slow in winter here in Selcuk. I have consulted Weather.com and the forcast is for NO rain and clear and 50 degrees. That is great news as I have been anticipating this portion of our Turkish stay.

Just a side note here, as several have asked. Of course the worldwide web is in full force in this country. Most hotels seem to have WiFi too. We were in the garden area of the grand Blue Mosque the other day in Istanbul and a sign indicated that it was wired for WiFi. Really? Do tourists come all the way to see the Blue Mosque and then whip out their laptops and chronicle their experience in real time? I guess so.

The Amazon was totally wired here in Selcuk. I imagine the energy needed for all his gear would take half the enrgy output of Hoover Dam. This small tourist hotel is also wired. Satellite TV on in the lobby and the rooms WiFi'ed. It's great.

What did we do in the old days? I imagine people drank their EFES and talked.... all without Satellite TV and Turkish Rock streamed through their computer. It's a wonderful time to be alive.

Peace,  Bob